How do I solve 1 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

1 across reads "American elector gutted seeing exploiter" (4 letters); the answer is USER. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 4 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

4 across reads "Drunk in club ultimately having runs?" (9 letters); the answer is BLADDERED. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 10 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

10 across reads "Reckless forward tackling defender, finally" (9 letters); the answer is IMPRUDENT. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 11 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

11 across reads "Country is unwelcoming, reportedly" (5 letters); the answer is CHILE. It's a homophone clue: the answer sounds like another word. Indicators like 'reportedly', 'we hear', or 'sounds like' point to a word that's pronounced similarly to the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 12 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

12 across reads "Tweet involving hearts gives pleasure" (6 letters); the answer is THRILL. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 13 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

13 across reads "Hamlet is low admitting delay" (7 letters); the answer is VILLAGE. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 16 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

16 across reads "Swindle participant in chess game" (4 letters); the answer is ROOK. It's a double-definition clue: two separate definitions of the same word sit side by side. No wordplay split and no indicators — both halves of the clue define the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 17 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

17 across reads "One good worker in sea vessel" (10 letters); the answer is BRIGANTINE. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 20 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

20 across reads "Unusually tender name for sweetheart?" (10 letters); the answer is ENDEARMENT. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 21 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

21 across reads "Lifeless backup covering Queen" (4 letters); the answer is ARID. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 23 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

23 across reads "People taking great interest?" (7 letters); the answer is USURERS. It's a cryptic definition: the whole clue is a playful or punny description of the answer. No wordplay decomposition to do — read laterally and identify what's being described. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 25 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

25 across reads "Bum support around horse, some say?" (6 letters); the answer is BEGGAR. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 28 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

28 across reads "Illness mother's bearing quietly" (5 letters); the answer is MUMPS. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 29 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

29 across reads "Persuades using lies given freely" (9 letters); the answer is INVEIGLES. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 30 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

30 across reads "Undertook a journey tense, then unwound" (9 letters); the answer is TRAVELLED. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 31 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

31 across reads "Part of semester, maybe" (4 letters); the answer is TERM. It's a hidden-word clue: the answer is spelled out by consecutive letters in the clue itself, often crossing a word boundary. Indicators like 'in', 'some', or 'part of' signal that you're looking at a substring. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 2 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

2 down reads "Invalid fed soup or something nutritious" (9 letters); the answer is SUPERFOOD. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 3 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

3 down reads "Capital of Russia?" (6 letters); the answer is ROUBLE. It's a cryptic definition: the whole clue is a playful or punny description of the answer. No wordplay decomposition to do — read laterally and identify what's being described. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 4 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

4 down reads "Dough, we hear, is raised" (4 letters); the answer is BRED. It's a homophone clue: the answer sounds like another word. Indicators like 'reportedly', 'we hear', or 'sounds like' point to a word that's pronounced similarly to the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 5 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

5 down reads "Cutting cord in a hospital department" (10 letters); the answer is ASTRINGENT. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 6 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

6 down reads "Small bird diving round lake" (8 letters); the answer is DUCKLING. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 7 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

7 down reads "Regretting United being in League" (5 letters); the answer is RUING. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 8 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

8 down reads "Document read up and down" (4 letters); the answer is DEED. It's a cryptic definition: the whole clue is a playful or punny description of the answer. No wordplay decomposition to do — read laterally and identify what's being described. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 9 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

9 down reads "Troubled brutes did wrong" (9 letters); the answer is DISTURBED. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 14 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

14 down reads "Original Victorian gold ring" (10 letters); the answer is PRIMORDIAL. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 15 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

15 down reads "Possibly crown the man before speech" (9 letters); the answer is HEADDRESS. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 18 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

18 down reads "Abnormal urge with liar turning Republican" (9 letters); the answer is IRREGULAR. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 19 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

19 down reads "Aggressor calculatingly holding up game" (8 letters); the answer is LACROSSE. It's a hidden-word clue: the answer is spelled out by consecutive letters in the clue itself, often crossing a word boundary. Indicators like 'in', 'some', or 'part of' signal that you're looking at a substring. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 22 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

22 down reads "Snooze hiding one's face" (6 letters); the answer is RESIST. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 24 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

24 down reads "Initially South American music, Brazilian actually" (5 letters); the answer is SAMBA. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 26 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

26 down reads "Skip start of Open University" (4 letters); the answer is OMIT. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 27 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245?

27 down reads "Passionate prima donna is upset" (4 letters); the answer is AVID. It's a reversal clue: the answer is a word read backwards. Look for indicators like 'back', 'returned', or — in a down clue — 'up' or 'lifted'. Find the source word and reverse it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31245 — Answers, Hints & Wordplay Explained

1A — American elector gutted seeing exploiter (4) — USER

Indicator
Indicator found: 'gutted'
Operation
'gutted' signals a letter_selection operation
Fodder
Fodder: 'elector'
Abbreviation
Abbreviations spotted: 'American' → US
Assembly
US + ER = USER

Across

1A — American elector gutted seeing exploiter (4) — USER

4A — Drunk in club ultimately having runs? (9) — BLADDERED

10A — Reckless forward tackling defender, finally (9) — IMPRUDENT

11A — Country is unwelcoming, reportedly (5) — CHILE

12A — Tweet involving hearts gives pleasure (6) — THRILL

13A — Hamlet is low admitting delay (7) — VILLAGE

16A — Swindle participant in chess game (4) — ROOK

17A — One good worker in sea vessel (10) — BRIGANTINE

20A — Unusually tender name for sweetheart? (10) — ENDEARMENT

21A — Lifeless backup covering Queen (4) — ARID

23A — People taking great interest? (7) — USURERS

25A — Bum support around horse, some say? (6) — BEGGAR

28A — Illness mother's bearing quietly (5) — MUMPS

29A — Persuades using lies given freely (9) — INVEIGLES

30A — Undertook a journey tense, then unwound (9) — TRAVELLED

31A — Part of semester, maybe (4) — TERM

Down

2D — Invalid fed soup or something nutritious (9) — SUPERFOOD

3D — Capital of Russia? (6) — ROUBLE

4D — Dough, we hear, is raised (4) — BRED

5D — Cutting cord in a hospital department (10) — ASTRINGENT

6D — Small bird diving round lake (8) — DUCKLING

7D — Regretting United being in League (5) — RUING

8D — Document read up and down (4) — DEED

9D — Troubled brutes did wrong (9) — DISTURBED

14D — Original Victorian gold ring (10) — PRIMORDIAL

15D — Possibly crown the man before speech (9) — HEADDRESS

18D — Abnormal urge with liar turning Republican (9) — IRREGULAR

19D — Aggressor calculatingly holding up game (8) — LACROSSE

22D — Snooze hiding one's face (6) — RESIST

24D — Initially South American music, Brazilian actually (5) — SAMBA

26D — Skip start of Open University (4) — OMIT

27D — Passionate prima donna is upset (4) — AVID